Yin to Yang
by barbex
Summary: A young asari, thrown in a new position on the Normandy, finds that she has to work on her preconceptions and prejudices when she meets a young, tank-bred krogan. Urdnot Grunt/Asari OC
1. Chapter 1

_Yes, this is going to be a love story at some point, I just don't know how fast it will happen. Certain people have to grow first._

 _Jinaya T'Sarev is young in the way Liara was young at the beginning of ME1, so somewhere between 60 and 90 years._

* * *

Jinaya T'Sarev scratches at a spot under her head crest as she stares at the list of supplies that Professor Solus has put in demand for his laboratory. His research in the cure for the genophage requires the strangest components. Sometimes she wonders if all these resources are even worth the promised results. Does the galaxy really need healthy, multiplying, demanding krogan?

Pulling her hand away from that spot under her fringe, she is taken aback when her fingers come back with bloody tips. She must have scratched at this spot too many times this past hour.

She sighs, shuts down the terminal and heads to the med-bay. The human doctor on the Normandy has an excellent reputation regarding all species, including asari. Maybe she knows why the skin under her crest keeps itching.

The CIC is incredibly busy, she has to wind her way through people in armor towards the med bay. Specialist Traynor nods at her in passing and she even catches a glimpse of the Commander before she disappears around the corridor to the war room. The med bay doors close behind her with a soft click and suddenly it's wonderfully quiet.

The medical officer, Dr. Chakwas, looks up from her terminal and looks over her with the expertise of a long served combat medic. When she sees no obvious injury, she smiles.

"Jinaya T'Sarev, what can I do for you?" She indicates a chair for her to sit on.

Jinaya sits down and closes her eyes for a moment. She can't feel the human doctor like she could feel another biotic but there is a calming vibrancy around the woman. She starts to relax, tension falling from her shoulders. "I have...," she opens her eyes to see the doctor watching her. She dips her head to let the woman look under her crest. "I have this itch here, it keeps coming back."

The doctor scans the area with her omni-tool but then puts it aside and looks directly at it, at her crest, her neck and finally studies her eyes like an elaborate painting.

"Have you had this kind of rash before?"

"I noticed it the first time after I came on the Normandy twelve day cycles ago."

"And before that? Did you have this kind of rash before?"

"Yes, I did." She thinks back to her work at the laboratories on Noveria, the rash had covered all of her neck then. "At my last job on the Citadel I only had it once, but on my job before that, it was pretty bad."

"That was at the Noveria laboratories, wasn't it?"

Of course the doctor knows about it. As rumor has it, the Normandy is part of the Shadowbroker's own network. They know everything on the Normandy.

"Yes, I worked with cell samples, documenting reactions to various tests. I didn't know what I was testing, it was all very secretive."

"Do you think it was rachni cells?"

"Probably. When the Alliance shut down the labs — "

The doctor chuckles. "That's a nice way of putting it."

Jinaya has to laugh. "Yes, after the labs exploded, Lorik Qui'in took control of the business and most of the laboratory staff was encouraged to seek employment elsewhere."

"You went to the Citadel then?" Chakwas asked.

"Yes, I worked as a dancer until I found a new position as a scientific assistant."

"Did the rash go away after you left Noveria?" Doctor Chakwas scans the rash again and applies a medi-gel patch to the bleeding area.

"Yes it did. Do you think it had something to do with the rachni cells?"

"I'm leaning more towards stress as a contributing factor."

"I... yes, back then maybe," Jinaya admits, "but I'm not stressed right now, quite the opposite."

Dr. Chakwas leans back and makes a short note on her pad. "Your current position is not exactly challenging for you, is it?"

"I'm a cell biologist, with years of experience and I'm currently checking requisition lists because someone filed me into administration and communications." Jinaya sighs.

Chakwas nods. "Boredom is also a stress factor. You are underchallenged and the frustration manifests in this rash. Why don't you work in Mordin's lab?"

"All positions are full. Professor Solus has all the people he needs and can fit into his laboratory already. Or maybe he just told me that because I'm too young..."

Dr. Chakwas laughs out. "I can assure you that is not the case. If he says he has all available positions filled, then that's the truth. Mordin has no concept of friendly lies. And your age is certainly no factor." She looks at her, seeming to think something over. "I know it's not exactly pioneering research but I could use a scientific and medical assistant for the med-bay. It's not quite what you're trained for but it may be more fulfilling than your current job."

"That would be wonderful, thank you Doctor Chakwas."

"Then I'll see you tomorrow here again, alright?"

The doctor is true to her promise and Jinaya finds her new work much more interesting and stimulating. She even likes working with the patients that come in. Treating war injuries is never an easy task, but she likes feeling useful, to do her part in this galaxy wide war.

She is organizing new samples from a mission, when the door opens and the gap is filled by Commander Shepard and the hulking mass of a krogan, leaning on her. The krogan is covered with red and orange blood and various other substances and groans when Shepard leads him over to a bed.

"I don't need this," the krogan complains.

He looks young, his headcrest is not fully formed yet.

"Shut up and let the doctor take care of you." Commander Shepard sounds like a mother when she speaks to the krogan, stern but loving.

"I'm a krogan, I'll heal. Just give me something to eat."

Shepard shakes her head and turns to Jinaya. "This is Grunt. He almost got killed by reaperfied rachni — "

"Didn't get killed..."

"I said almost. It was brutal enough to get everyone else killed." She looks at Grunt and the young krogan turns away.

"You did good, Grunt, and now we're going to make sure that you're going to be alright." She squeezes his arm until he looks at her. A moment passes between them. "I want you back in good shape, you hear me? You will do what Doctor Chakwas and her assistants say and take the time to heal, understood?"

"Yes, battlemaster," Grunt mumbles and it sounds like a stubborn boy who doesn't dare to talk back to his mother.

Jinaya can not quite grasp this interaction.

"I'm sorry, I don't know your name?"

She realizes after a moment of silence that Commander Shepard is talking to her.

"Oh, yes, I'm Jinaya T'Sarev, I only just recently got here."

"Take good care of him please, T'Sarev" Shepard says to her. "Rachni blood is nasty..."

"I know," Jinaya says, swallowing down her nervousness. It's not every day that you see _the_ Commander Shepard at your workplace, especially not while taking care of a krogan like a mother would.

"I'll send someone over to pick up his armor," Shepard says, "let's see how the cleaning closet deals with rachni blood. Check him for chemical burns and don't listen to him when he says that he doesn't need any help."

"I am krogan!" Grunt hollers from the stretcher but he doesn't make any attempt of getting up.

Shepard grins. "Isn't he adorable?" she says quietly. She winks at Jinaya and exits the med-bay, leaving Jinaya in contemplation if it is even possible, in this universe, to call a krogan adorable.

Doctor Chakwas comes in with her field bag, having taken care of minor injuries in the shuttle bay. "Hello Grunt," she says, completely unimpressed by the massive body in her med-bay.

"Hello Doctor Chakwas," Grunt says sheepishly. Jinaya's mind is spinning, the krogan looks downright intimidated.

Doctor Chakwas puts on gloves and protective gear, indicating to Jinaya to do the same. "I heard you saved Commander Shepard and her squad today," she says to Grunt.

The young krogan makes a proud hum. "It was a hard battle, we fought hundreds of rachni. Aralakh Company held them off as long as possible."

They start peeling off the bloodied armor. In some places the rachni acid has caused it to fuse with Grunt's skin. But he doesn't complain, not even making a sound. Doctor Chakwas keeps talking to him. "Aralakh Company fought a great battle today. I'm sorry your friends didn't make it."

"They were not my friends," Grunt says quietly.

"They were your team and they fought with you, that's pretty close to being friends."

Another piece of armor comes off and Jinaya gets a container to store the pieces in. Grunt is quiet but his blue eyes are bright and alert, watching her.

"Hm," Doctor Chakwas says, scanning over Grunt's body. Jinaya halts in her movements, holding a piece of a shattered gauntlet up that still sticks to the skin on one end. It's never good if a doctor says 'hm' in that tone.

"What is it?"

"This injury is far more extensive than I thought at first. Even rapid krogan healing will not fix this in a few hours." She looks up to Grunt, who watches her quietly. "You will have to stay in my med-bay for at least three days and even afterwards you will have to take it easy for a while."

"Rachni," Grunt growls.

"Indeed," Doctor Chakwas says, while using a plasma scalpel to cut the gauntlet Jinaya holds up, away from the skin. "Your bones will heal quickly but your skin... We will clean up this acidic blood but your skin will have to secrete the remaining traces it on its own. Cleaning this will be painful."

"Just do it."

Jinaya cleans the blood off him with water and uses a mild solvent to remove the acid. She expects a protest any moment from Grunt but the krogan is a model patient, following every instruction, turning to give them access to all sides without complaint. Only the occasional rapid blinking of his eyes convince her that krogan are not immune to pain.

It takes them hours to remove all the acid. By now, the novelty of working on a naked krogan has worn off and Jinaya only stares a little at what krogan call their quad. Her experience with krogan is limited to a few lap dances she gave when she worked as a dancer and from what she can tell, Grunt's quad and penis are of a healthy normal krogan size.

She starts cleaning around the sensitive area while Doctor Chakwas prepares a medi-gel solution to apply to his skin later on. She is careful but she treats this area just like any other part of his body, working the solvent into the creases of his skin and removing the dissolving acid with a sponge.

A hiss makes her look up towards Grunt's face. It's the first time he voices any discomfort.

"I'm sorry, I have to do this." She tries to smile at him.

He sighs and nods.

As she is cleaning, she keeps glancing back to his face. His eyes are closed, his soft headcrest drawn low in a frown. Except for the occasional twitch when she touches his penis, he stays still until Jiyana is done.

"I'm done with the cleaning there now," she says. "I'm going to clean up to your chest now."

Grunt visibly relaxes.

Doctor Chakwas returns and begins to slather the cleaned parts of his body with the medi-gel solution. It takes them another hour until they're finally done. Doctor Chakwas has Grunt moved over on a gel-pack bed and the krogan settles into the adjusting cushion with a sigh.

"I'm going to give you an IV sedative," Doctor Chakwas says, "but I'm afraid it won't do much. Your metabolism resorbs everything so fast, I can hardly keep a steady dosage up."

"I am krogan, I don't need it," Grunt says but he doesn't protest when the doctor lays the IV and attaches the tube to the monitoring console.

Jinaya follows Doctor Chakwas to her desk and watches her hesitate to input the dosage parameters.

"I don't know..." she turns to Jinaya, "can you believe that the medical guidelines basically say 'use horse dosage, triple, and see what happens' in nice, medical terms?"

"I imagine not many people have thought about medical procedures for krogan," Jinaya says.

"No, definitely not. But I can't just watch him being in pain, krogan or not, he feels pain just like any other creature in this universe." She types in a few numbers and the monitoring console at the other end of the room beeps in acknowledgment. "We'll use this as a starting point. Can you watch over him for any negative reaction, while I research this some more?"

"Of course, Doctor." Jinaya nods and goes back to the gel-pack bed, pulling a chair close so that she can see Grunt's face and the monitoring console at the same time. It looks like he's sleeping but then his eyes open when she sits down and she is startled by the bright blue of his eyes, staring at her unblinking.

"How do you feel?" she asks.

"I..."

"Don't give me that 'I am krogan' narc. How do you feel?"

There is a long pause where Jinaya wonders if Grunt has never thought about what he feels of if he's lacking the words to describe it. And then he surprises her.

"Humiliated."

"By the cleaning? I'm sorry I had to touch you there..."

Grunt chuckles. "No, I liked that part. But... do you know who I am?"

"Apart from your name being Grunt?"

"I'm the perfect krogan, purely bred in a tank. My creator wanted to make the strongest krogan and I am the result."

Jinaya stares for a moment. She has heard about the tank-born krogan but she expected him to look different. Like a brutal warmachine, not like a young krogan with bright blue eyes. "Are you humiliated because you got injured?"

"I lost my whole squad."

"I'm sorry."

"They were not my friends, but they were my squad and my responsibility. Urdnot Wrex trusted Arlakh Company with me."

Jinaya thinks back to the battle scarred krogan she has seen in Mordin's lab occasionally. Not the person she would like to disappoint either. "But it was a brave battle and you saved Commander Shepard."

The krogan grins widely. "Yes, I saved my battlemaster."

"I think she was very proud of you," Jinaya says. The monitor console shows a slight reaction to the sedative and Grunt's features seem to relax. As much as she can tell with a krogan. She has to admit that she has never worried about how a krogan in distress would look.

"Thank you," Grunt says, looking into her eyes.

"What for?"

"For saying that my battlemaster was proud of me."

"She really was."

"And that washing was kind of nice too."

Jinaya snorts in surprise and Grunt joins her in her laughter with a deep, rumbling chuckle.

She laughs, more than she has laughed in months until she sees Grunt's eyes drooping. As she watches him, quietly chuckling to herself, he falls asleep with a smile on his wide face.

She watches him as he sleeps, occasionally looking at the readout on the monitor. Maybe there is a point to Professor Solus and his research in healing the genophage. Doesn't someone like Grunt deserve a normal life just like anybody else?

* * *

 _Thanks to LauraEMoriarty for betaing!_


	2. Chapter 2

_A little teaser chapter of things to come..._

* * *

"Are you Jinaya T'Sarev?"

Jinaya looks up from the microscopic scanner to the young man in a brand new alliance uniform that looks way too big on him. She turns around, taking in the small laboratory and swallows a remark about her being alone in here. Who knows what kind of orders he has.

"Yes, I'm Jinaya T'Sarev."

"Commander Shepard would like to speak to you in the War Room."

"Oh? Well..." she looks at the samples under the scanner and nods. "I can come right away. Why didn't she send a message?"

The soldier shrugs with too much detachment for someone so young. "I don't know."

She puts the samples back into the storage box and follows the soldier through the corridors, stepping over taped down cables and ducking under low traverses. It looks like the Normandy will never grow out of its refurbishing phase before the war is over. If she survives that long.

The war room is brightly lit and appears to be overly crowded. This is mostly due to the two krogan Wrex and Grunt taking up more space on the left side of the table, than any asari or human brain is quite willing to give to one person. On the other side, an asari matriarch is showing Commander Shepard, Garrus Vakarian and Primarch Victus something on a datapad.

"Ah, Jinaya, there you are," Commander Shepard calls out to her. Her bright and friendly smile betrays the exhaustion on her face. "I have an unusual mission for you that I hope you will agree to take on."

Jinaya stops herself from blurting out a yes. Maybe she should at least hear what the Commander has to propose. With her reputation, the options could range from impossible to insane with anything in between.

Commander Shepard points to the asari next to her. "This is Matriarch Tenes, she has brought us some disturbing intel. Would you fill in Jinaya, please?"

The asari looks at her with the kind of haughty expression that seems to come with the matriarch stage, at least from Jinaya's experience. "Yes, of course." Her gaze settles on Jinaya, she looks almost bored. "We have received information that certain factions are trying to come into possession of a poison that could be devastating to our defences against the reapers and their followers."

Her calm voice fills the room and settles like a dampening layer on the tension. Even the semi-permanent frown on Wrex's forehead smoothes and Grunt looks like he wants to fall asleep.

"We know of a transaction soon to be taking place on Illium. Someone wants to buy the poison and if we trace the goods, we may be able to crush that whole organisation. But the seller has fallen to an unfortunate fate and the buyer has certain expectations regarding the sellers."

"You killed the seller?"

The matriarch smiles coyly, it makes the room feel colder. "They can most certainly not make the appointment."

Commander Shepard looks to Jinaya and then to Grunt. "The buyer expects an asari scientist and her krogan bodyguard. You're a scientist yourself, you'll be perfect. The transaction is taking place on Illium in three days, which is just enough time for us to make it there and prepare you."

Jinaya looks over to Grunt, who seems to be undecided.

"That doesn't sound like a fight," the young krogan grumbles.

"I'm in," Jinaya says. This definitely sounds more exciting than scanning cell samples.

Grunt gives her a look she can't quite interpret and nods. "I'm in too."

"But won't the buyer know that we're not the original sellers?" Jinaya wonders.

Matriarch Tenes sighs. "I am certain that they only communicated via messages. There is of course a risk. But the buyer is human..."

The matriarch lets the sentence hang and Jinaya looks at Commander Shepard for help.

A sigh comes from Commander Shepard. "And to a lot of humans asari look all very much alike. If we adjust your markings, we stand a good chance that he will not notice."

Jinaya traces the white lines on her cheeks. Her markings are a part of her, changing them is like changing herself as a person.

Grunt steps forward, which is never an inconspicuous move for a krogan in human sized spaces. "That still sounds risky. And I not many krogan look like me either."

"As her bodyguard, you'll wear a helmet."

"Asari don't like changing their markings," Grunt says.

He now stands next to Jinaya, and she wonders how he knows these things about asari markings. He is looking at her and she realizes after a few moments that he waits for her to say something.

"I... yes, I.." she stutters, trapped in the gaze from those fierce blue eyes. "I mean, I don't like it much but as long as it's not permanent..."

"Of course not," Commander Shepard says. "We'll use ink that will wash off with a soluble. The original seller had large, red markings, they will cover yours completely."

"Then I'm doing it," she says and turns to the matriarch. "I need to know more about the poison, to be convincing as the seller."

"It's a cellular poison," the old asari says with a not quite arrogant sneer, "I'm not sure if I can simplify it enough for you to —"

"I'm a cell biologist, I'm sure I can understand." Jinaya keeps her voice as nice as she possibly can. Next to her, a chuckle from Grunt touches her like a vibration in the air, too quiet to hear but she knows how amused he is.

As the matriarch explains how the poison was designed and how it affects the bodies of humans, asari and turians — terribly, devastating and fast but slow enough to be very painful — Commander Shepard grins at her.

For the first time in years, Jinaya feels like she is part of something important.


	3. Chapter 3

The shuttle takes a scenic turn over the glamorous towers of Illium before landing on a platform in a not quite so glittery part of the city.

Liara T'Soni looks out of the opening door with a sneer. "Of course it's Nos Astra, where else could it be." She steps onto the platform and waits for Jinya and Grunt to exit after her. "Welcome to Nos Astra on Illium, where even the crime is elegant and fashionable."

Jinaya only now notices that Dr. T'Soni doesn't wear her usual armor but a form fitting dress designed after the latest fashion. She nods at the workers and exchanges a look with a heavily armed asari, who turns on her heels and disappears between some low buildings. Jinaya can feel her biotics tasting sour.

A skycar with a chauffeur waits for them at the exit and as they sit down inside, Dr. T'Soni addresses the driver. "Sirtika, a pleasure. Are you well?"

"I have no reason to complain," the driver says with a friendly smile.

"Is Delina keeping you busy?"

"Yes, your offices had many visitors lately."

Jinaya looks at Dr. T'Soni at that.

"Something I should know?" Dr. T'Soni asks.

"I'm just the driver, Madam," she says, looking straight ahead.

"Madam is it now? Seen many human visitors lately?"

"As it happens, Dr. T'Soni."

Dr. T'Soni leans back in her seat, a frown pulling her head crest down.

Jinaya waits a moment before she turns to the other asari. "Dr. T'Soni?"

"Oh, please call me Liara."

"Ehm, yes, Liara, ehm, you have an office in Nos Astra?"

"I do indeed. I established myself here as an information broker, back when Commander Shepard... when she was assumed do be dead." She pauses, a dark expression crossing her features. "I made a name for myself here before I became the Shadow Broker. I kept this office under the care of a trusted employee but Sirtika just now made me question the wisdom of that. I may have to check up on a few things while I'm here."

"Will you be our contact on this mission?" Jinaya asks. It would be nice to have a familiar face to speak to.

"I'm afraid that's not possible. I'm too well known for my connection to Commander Shepard. No one would believe you to be a criminal."

Jinaya nods. It makes sense but it coils the ball of dread in her stomach just a little bit tighter. Next to her, Grunt looks out of the window of the skycar, his bright blue eyes taking in every glittering light and advertisement they pass. She wonders if he has ever seen a city like this.

Grunt sneers at the sight and mumbles, "Hasn't changed much, this place."

"You mean it still looks like a glittering jewel?" Liara says with a grin.

"And it's still just as rotten to the core as Omega is. That's what Vakarian said when we were here last."

Jinaya stares at him in surprise. "You've been on Illium before?"

Grunt nods. "Yes, with Commander Shepard. Those towers over there were still under construction when we fought our way up to recruit — a new crew member."

"I see." Jinaya hides her embarrassed blush by looking out of the other window, turning away from the krogan she underestimated once again.

Liara leans forward to speak to the driver. "Sirtaka, please drop my friends off at the Pardineri Gates."

"Right away, Dr. T'Soni."

The skycar makes a turn and lands on a platform for a business tower made of glass and advertisements. It looks just like any other building around here, the same combination of offices, shopping malls and restaurants as everywhere else on Illium. In trying to look the most elegant, sparkly and unique, all the towers seem to blur into each other.

Before the door opens, Liara points to a table at a cafe under an artificial tree. "Settle down there and wait for your contact to find you. This will be just an intermediary, but we can't be sure how much they know. Your markings make you out to look like Geljinia Nanta'Do and Grunt..."

"I put on my helmet and stand guard behind her," the young krogan says. "It would look wrong if I sat at the table with her as her bodyguard. I can hardly drink coffee with my helmet on anyway,"

"Yes, good thinking. Nanta'Do might have been in a relationship with Benshaw Garex but they still kept up appearances around potential clients. You should do the same."

Jinaya's and Grunts' heads whips around. "Nanta'Do had a relationship with her krogan bodyguard?" Jinaya calls out.

"Didn't you dossiers mention that?" Liara furiously types on her omni-tool and shakes her head. "I'm sorry, I don't know why that information didn't get added to the files." She looks up. "But there isn't much to it, their relationship was not known by many and they kept it strictly separate from their business arrangements as equal partners."

Jinaya and Grunt avoid looking at each other but she could swear that the krogan is blushing.

"I leave you now and to anybody watching us, we just happened to share a skycar, understood?" Liara says and opens the vehicle's door. Jinaya and Grunt nod and jump out. "It was nice meeting you," Liara calls after them and pulls the door closed as the skycar takes off again.

Jinaya's biotics flicker over her hands as she pulls the elegant, purple robe tighter around her light armor and tries to find her confidence. But with Liara leaving and Grunt's face hidden under his helmet, she feels utterly alone and afraid.

"Are you nervous?" Grunt says quietly in her ear implant.

"Yes, very much," Jinaya says equally quiet, trusting the comm system to transmit her voice to Grunt's implant.

"Me too," the krogan says even more quietly. "You look good, like a serious business woman."

"Thank you," she says, slowly walking towards the table under the pink tree. "You also look good," she wonders what a compliment would be for a krogan, "very intimidating."

"Thanks." They have reached the table and Grunt steers her to the chair back towards the railing. "I can stand by your side there and have no potential threats at our backs."

"Alright." Jinaya sits down, struggling with the many layers of her robe. Grunt takes position to the right of her and his hunking presence actually calms her and makes her feel safer.

"How long will we have to wait?" she asks as she orders a thessian drink from the glowing menu.

"I'm sure we're already being watched," Grunt says over the comm. "Our contact will be one of the people already sitting here."

The waitress brings her drink and she hides scanning the crowd for suspicious looking faces by drinking from her cup very slowly. "I'm sorry you can't get anything here," she says to Grunt.

Grunt chuckles. "I'll make up for it tonight in our hotel room."

Jinaya chokes on her drink and coughs. She had forgotten about sharing the hotel room with him and she isn't quite sure what to think about it. She's not afraid of him, not anymore, but still the thought of sharing a room with him makes her feel strangely apprehensive. "Ah yes, I hope Commander Shepard pays for room service."

A quiet hum comes from Grunt. "Attention. Someone is coming."

An asari with red markings and puffy cheeks approaches their table and sits down with an overly friendly smile.

"Geljinia Nanta'Do I presume?"

"Who is asking?" Jinaya says, keeping with the script Liara has instructed her on.

"Tisdal Akor. I'm representing a consortium of investors of special interests. As you are aware, the goods are of a questionable legality in council space, which brings us here to Nos Astra, where we are not quite so uptight." She leans forward and her smile seems frozen on her face. "My clients have agreed to your terms and will provide the expected funds. But they have specific instructions for the exchange taking place tonight. If you would give me your contacts, I'll send them to you."

Jinaya signals her agreement via the hacked omni-tool on her arm. They would have to destroy this one as soon as the exchange is over or they'd be traceable back to the Normandy.

"Glad to be doing business with you," Akor says and gets up, her smile still frozen on her face. She leaves the cafe with quick strides and Jinaya lets out a breath.

"That wasn't too hard," she says into the comm.

"Careful, we're not done yet," Grunt says. "There's at least three more operatives in this place."

"How do you know?"

"Doing my job," he says and she can hear him grin. "I'm your bodyguard, remember?"

Jinaya lets her biotics flow through her in a calming wave. "Miss frozen smile didn't even look at you."

"Yeah, a krogan is pretty much invisible here. We're just dumb killers for hire here."

That remark hits her more than she likes to admit.

"Well, then I guess Geljinia Nanta'Do is going to check into her hotel room now with her krogan boyfriend." As soon as the words have left her mouth, she wants to sink into the floor to hide.

What has ridden her to say this?

Grunt chuckles. "That's very nice of you but as Liara said, they weren't acting like that in public so you don't have to pretend — "

"- I know you're not just a dumb killer.." she blurts out, almost too loud.

The armor hides his expression and his voice is flat over the comm. "We should go." He steps to the side and gestures to her to go in front of him.

His hulking presence is a reassurance behind her right shoulder as they walk to a skycar station. The whole ride is silent, and Jinaya's embarrassment grows with every second.

In the hotel room, he collapses his helmet and takes off most of his armor but he doesn't look at her and still doesn't say anything. His expression is unreadable; she doesn't know enough about krogan to know what he's thinking.

At last she can't take the silence anymore. "I'm sorry for embarrassing you like that, I don't know what I was thinking." She takes a deep breath and keeps on babbling because he's still unreadable to her and he' still not saying anything. "I'm don't know many krogan, I only danced for some but they were just... loud and rude and — I've realized that I have some pretty bad prejudices against krogan and at first I thought you were just, you know, just another dumb brute but you are not, I know that now and I just didn't like how that frozen smile didn't even — "

"You're very nice," he finally interrupts her.

"Oh, thank the goddess, I would have kept going, you can't let me keep talking like that."

He chuckles and the relief she feels is like a weight lifting from her shoulders.

He looks at her, his wide mouth pulled into a smile. "I like hearing you talk, you have a pretty voice."

"I do?"

"Yes." He turns back to the large window overlooking the city. In the distance, the green lights of the polar towers stretches into the sky. "I'm tank-born, I was born fully grown and ready to fight. The tank has taught me everything about killing, I know how to kill you without weapons in ten different ways. The tank taught me hate, anger and superiority. But I didn't know what family is, what honor truly means and how to have friends."

Jinaya goes up to him, looking out over the city with him. "I'm sorry, I never knew what tank-born meant. I hope you won't kill me in ten different ways?"

Grunt lets out a short laugh at that. "You don't need to worry about that."

She puts a hand on his arm, surprised how cool it feels to the touch. "If it's possible, I would like to be your friend."

Grunt looks at her, his fierce blue eyes pinning her into place. "I don't have many friends. It's difficult for me. But I would like to be your friend."

"Then that's settled," she says, holding out her hand. "Hi, I'm Jinaya, an ignorant asari."

Grunt shakes her hand with a smile. "Hi, I'm Grunt, ignorant krogan at your service."

She smiles at him, ridiculously happy as she tries to fit her hand around his big hand.

Her omni-tool pings with a message from the asari with the frozen smile. The instructions are pretty straightforward.

She reads over the information twice. "The meeting is set but we have to go now."

"On with it then." Grunt puts his armor back on and waits for her at the door.

Jinaya rechecks the light armor hidden under her robe and attaches a pistol to her hip. She has her biotics but she isn't a trained soldier and the pistol gives her a sense of security.

The meeting is so short and unproblematic, that it's almost a let down. The contact says the correct codeword, a briefcase of untraceable credit chits is exchanged for the padded box with the vials of poison and three minutes later they are back in the skycar.

Jinaya looks to the warehouse as the skycar takes them back to the hotel. "I thought this would be more exciting."

"It was too easy," Grunt huffs.

"As longs they can trace the poison now, it was a success."

"Still too easy." Grunt keeps scanning their surroundings but the ride back to the hotel is uneventful. When they are back in their room, Grunt finally relaxes and takes off his armor.

Jinaya also slips out of the robe and exchanges the armor for a simple wrap around dress. It looks really good on her, not that she chose to put it on for that reason.

An opulent meal of asari specialities and drinks later, Jinaya leans back against the headrest of the bed with a sigh. "I think Geljinia Nanta'Do is going to write an excellent review for that room service."

Grunt lets out a burp and some other noise that sounds like the rumbling of a rock rolling down a hill. "Very good, yes."

Jinaya strains her neck to look at him down on the floor. "You know, you'd be much more comfortable up here on the bed."

He looks up to her with an insecure smile. She seems to be getting better at reading him or maybe the sparkly drink just gave her a bit more confidence.

"It'll be nicer to talk to each other too," she offers with an inviting smile.

"Okay, I'm coming up," he says with a grin. "I hope the bed holds."

"If it doesn't, Geljinia Nanta'Do is going to change her review."

The bed squeaks once but holds Grunt's weight just fine. He leans against the headboard next to her and the dip in the mattress lets her slide against him. Not that she complains about that, his hulking mass is a welcome wall of support to lean against.

She leans back on his chest and looks up to his wide face. "So, you said you don't have many friends. That means you do have some, tell me, who are your friends?"

He chuckles and it vibrates through his chest. "I have a human friend called Jack. She is a fierce warrior, a powerful biotic. She was made like that, against her will but she knows herself now and uses her power the way she wants."

"She was made? Kind of like you were made, in the tank?"

"Sort of. She was just a child and they trained her to be a killer with drugs and mental torture. It's not just krogan who can be terrible to each other."

Jinaya shudders, thinking about that. "I can see how you had a lot to talk with each other."

Grunt makes the vibrating murmur of a sound again. "The tank taught me that humans are weak. But my Battlemaster is a human, Jack is human too and they are both mighty. When I met Commander Shepard and got to know her crew, I knew that the tank had been lying to me. Even if people are physically weaker, they can be stronger."

Jinaya snuggles up against Grunt's chest, letting sleepiness overtake her. "Who else is friends with the perfect krogan?"

His chuckle almost knocks her head off. "I think the turian, Garrus Vakarian, is my friend too. He's not much for talking but he showed me how to play games on the Extranet and what strategies I need. We play together sometimes."

"Is Commander Shepard your friend?"

"She's my Battlemaster but she's also my friend. I trust her with my life."

Jinaya yawns and pulls a blanket over her shoulder. "Sounds like you have pretty cool friends."

Grunt is silent for a moment and then he puts his arm around her. She sighs, snuggling closer to him and as she falls asleep she hears him mumble, "The tank never taught me any of this."

"Wake up, Jinaya T'Sarev. Wake up, Urdnot Grunt."

Jinaya flares in wild biotics as a mild electric shock rips her from her sleep. A drone hovers over the bed and when its shock hits Grunt, he lets out a loud squeak that he will probably deny to ever having made.

"Wake up, Jinaya T'Sarev. Wake up, Urdnot Grunt."

Another electrical zap makes them both curse.

"Yes, we're up!" Jinaya yells, holding her hand on Grunt's arm to stop him from shooting the drone.

"Jinaya T'Sarev, Urdnot Grunt. Please listen to this recording."

Grunt growls at the drone. "Play it before I eat you."

The drone makes an acknowledging beep and the voice of Liara comes from it. "You have to leave now! Your contact from the cafe and Ildrin Verteckness, the buyer, have both been found dead. You both are the prime suspects for murder, the trace of the vials go directly back to your location. You are being framed and once Illium's bureaucracy has you, we can't help you anymore. Leave now, leave the city. Destroy your omni-tools. This drone has a supply of credit chits, do not use any of your own credits. Do not contact anybody. Stay low for at least four days before contacting my office under the name Rosenburg. Leave now! You're on your own. Don't get caught."

Grunt is already is already halfway done with putting on his armor by the time the recording finishes and Jinaya hurries to catch up.

"Shit," Grunt huffs, "I knew it was too easy."


	4. Chapter 4

Jinaya grabs the credit chits from the drone as she puts on her light armor. The drone beeps at her, backs away to the wall, and explodes in a tiny ball of flames.

"Shit, shit, shit." Grunt checks his weapons. At least he still has his bodyguard weapons, all Jinaya has is one small pistol, one she isn't quite familiar with. "Ready?" he asks.

Jinaya grabs a handful of nutrient bars from the mini fridge and nods. "Yes." Her heart is racing and her biotics trickle erratically over her skin.

Grunt approaches the door with his assault rifle raised, gesturing to Jinaya to stay behind him.

"Wait!" she calls out. "The tools."

"Shit."

They both peel the omni-tool chips from their implant sockets and throw them on the floor. Grunt steps on them and Jinaya presses the shattered remains into a tight ball with a biotic pull.

Grunt is at the door again, listening for noise outside. Jinaya finds herself already missing her omni-tool, she had a near-area scanner on there.

"I think they're not here yet," Grunt says and opens the door for a gap. "Clear."

"We shouldn't go downstairs," Jinaya says. "They're either already waiting for us there or are on their way."

"Up then." Grunt steps into the hallway, his weapon still at the ready and Jinaya follows him. She walks backwards, feeling his presence at her back as she readies her biotics.

Footsteps can be heard on the other side of the hallway, behind a corner. "Someone's coming," Junaya whispers.

"If they shoot at us, you have to kill them. Can you do that?" Grunt asks, moving surprisingly quiet for someone this large.

"Well, I..." she hesitates. She isn't a soldier but she has been around this galaxy long enough to have had her share of violent disputes. But she has not killed anyone, not yet. This day looks like it might change that. "I think I can. But I was wondering if we draw more attention to us if we start shooting around here."

"Not sure if we can avoid that."

Just as she can see a shadow moving on the opposite wall, Grunt pulls her behind a door and holds up a finger. The door slips closed silently behind them and Jinaya holds her breath. People are running past the door, she can sense several biotics among them and hopes that her own biotics are hidden among the others.

"We need to lock this door, they'll check it soon enough," Grunt mumbles right next to her ear. His low rumble causes a soft shiver up her spine that she studiously ignores. "The door to the roof is to our right, when they've checked that one, we'll go up. Can you lock this door?"

"Without an omni-tool? I don't know." She looks around the room, it seems to be a supply closet, barely big enough to hold the both of them. She slips around Grunt's massive body, to see what she can find on the shelf behind him. There is a handheld scanner, an ultraviolet light emitter for cleaning and a couple of bottles of cleaning solution and a scrubber with a long stick. If she had her omni-tool, she could probably hack the scanner but without it, she feels useless.

The noise outside the door gets louder again, people are opening doors and yelling at people in the rooms. Steps are coming closer to their door and in a last, desperate attempt to do something, Jinaya grabs the scrubber and shoves the stick into the door frame, blocking the door from sliding to the side. Not a second later, the access panel gives out an annoyed warning beep when someone tries to open the door.

Grunt nods at her, his shotgun still aimed at the door. Jinaya listens for the sound of footsteps receding before she dares to let out a breath. She removes the stick and waits for Grunt to nod before she hits the access panel. The door slides to the side with a scratching noise and Jinaya freezes.

She kneels down and sticks her head out to look up and down the hallway. "Clear," she says quietly.

Grunt moves past her, like a solid wall on quiet feet, and crosses the hallway. Nodding at her, he waits for her to come out and proceeds to a metal door marked 'roof'. He hits the access panel and aims his gun into the stairwell as soon as the door has slid to the side enough. Nobody is on the old fashioned stairwell.

Jinaya hides behind Grunt as they climb up the stairs. "How do we know they're not just waiting for us up there?"

"If they do, I'll shoot them," Grunt says, patting his gun.

"You can't!"

"Why not?"

Jinaya stops their climb with a hand on Grunt's arm. "This is Nos Astra, the city with the highest coverage of surveillance in the galaxy, it's practically their trademark. You can't just go around shooting people, we're civilians right now and we're wanted for murder already. They'll have us on camera the second we see Illium's sky."

"Shit." They have reached the end of the stairs, facing a rough wall with an old door but Grunt hesitates.

"Ehm..." Jinaya carefully steps around his massive form. "What's our plan, once we're on the roof?"

Grunt makes a noise in his throat and avoids looking at her. "I kind of hoped you'd have an idea."

"Oh goddess, we're so screwed."

Jinaya has her hand on the manual door handle and pushes it down. The door creaks open and the purple light of Illium's sky blinds them for a moment.

"Looks empty," Grunt says.

"That doesn't really matter, does it? There's cameras everywhere." Even up on this deserted roof, cameras are scanning the area.

Grunt leans out of the door and takes a longer look. "But most of them just look down, scanning the street below." He leans back to Jinaya. "Can I at least shoot the camera that scans the roof?"

"That's probably better than letting it catch us," Jinaya admits.

Grunt nods, clearly happy to be allowed to shoot at least something and leans out of the door again. He fiddles with his gun before he fires one surprisingly quiet shot. "Got a noise cancellation mod on this one," he says with a smirk.

He steps out on the roof, Jinaya following him closely as they look for more cameras. But even on Nos Astra, the roof of some middle class hotel is obviously not considered to be important enough for extensive surveillance.

Jinaya goes along the edge of the roof until she finds what she's looking for. "Grunt, come here."

"What?"

"We have to get down there." She points to a slim walkway two levels down, it connects this building with the next one. Nos Astra architecture has many high level walkways to connect buildings in more than one way. But this walkway looks more like a maintenance access. "If we get on top of that, we can avoid the cameras."

"On top?" Grunt stares down at the small, metallic path, glinting in the purple light.

"How's your balance?" She hides a grin by looking back to the access way.

"How's yours?" he rumbles back.

"I was a dancer, I'd say, my balance is pretty good."

"You go first then," he says. "How do we get there?"

Jinaya points at the outside wall. "I was hoping you have some stuff in your armor that could help us to climb down there."

An inaudible sigh escapes him before he nods. "Yeah, I got some mass effect emitters that can make a small Pull field. What do you have?"

Jinaya holds up her ungloved hands. "Only these. This suit barely has a shield emitter."

"You hold on to me then," Grunt says and points to his back.

Jinaya finds two handles on the top of his shoulder armor to hold onto and wraps her legs around his waist. "Ok, I'm ready." The position doesn't feel half as sexy as it could be with her legs pressing against the harsh ridges of his armor.

"Don't let go," he growls and climbs over the edge of the roof. Blue mass effect fields flicker on his hands as he grabs onto decorative ledges. He climbs down between the windows, holding on to impossibly small edges in the surface. Jinaya holds on with all her strength. Up here, even the controlled weather of Nos Astra can cause winds and they rip and pull at her suit.

After what feels like an eternity, Grunt's feet hit the metal surface of the maintenance bridge. Jinaya opens her eyes, only now realizing that she had closed them tight on the climb, and lowers herself down.

They both listen through noise of the wind. "No alarm," Jinaya whispers.

"What?"

"I don't hear an alarm," she says a bit louder.

"There still might be surveillance on the other side."

Jinaya nods. "We just have to risk it." She waits for Grunt to go on but he stares at the narrow bridge with disgust.

"You go first," he says.

"Alright." Jinaya holds out her hand to Grunt and he hesitates. "Come one, just take my hand."

His big hand closes around hers, heavy and hard in armored gloves. She turns and confidently walks forward, pulling Grunt behind her. The metallic covering vibrates under his steps. The wind picks up as they reach the middle of the bridge, howling through the canyons of the skyscrapers.

"I don't like this," Grunt complains.

"We're almost there." She keeps her eyes on her feet, trying to ignore the view of the road far down below. The wind pulls at her and Grunt's presence behind her is a reassurance. Looking up, she can see the other side of the walkway, ending at a balcony. "Look," she yells back to Grunt, "at least getting off won't be as difficult."

Just as her foot is in the air, a sound makes her look up. A skycar flies towards the bridge, tumbling more than flying and swerving directly towards them.

"Get down!" Grunt calls out and pushes her down. His armor scrapes against the metal as his own momentum pulls him forward and over the edge of the bridge.

"No, Grunt! Hold on!" Jinaya cries out, anchoring her one hand around the edge of the metal covering and stretches out her other arm towards Grunt. But she can't reach him. His legs dangle over the edge of the walkway and his armored hand begins to slip on the slick surface of the bridge.

"The field," she yells, "the Pull field."

Understanding dawns on Grunt's face and he strains his other hand up to hit a button on his arm. The small mass effect field stretches out, pulling his armored hand to the surface of the bridge. He pulls, armor creaking and scratching as he heaves himself up over the edge. Jinaya grabs his arm as soon as she can reach him and pulls him up next to her.

She climbs over the railing of the balcony, never letting go of Grunt's hand until they are both save on the other side. The swerving skycar is nowhere to be seen.

Grunt sits down with his back to the railing with a huff. "I think I don't like heights."

"Is that a new realisation?" Jinaya sits down next to him. She still holds his armored hand tight in her own. He might not feel it but it makes her feel more secure.

"It seems that the tank was unable to teach me about that."

"What does a tank even know about things like that?"

Grunt just snorts at that and struggles to get up. But he keeps her hand in his.

"We need to keep going," he says quietly.

"But we can't go down to the consumer level,' Jinaya says as she pulls herself up. "We'll be on camera the second we step outside and by now they'll surely have our biometrics on alert."

Grunt nods but stares at her face.

"What?" she asks.

"Your temporary markings, they're flaking."

She feels over her cheeks, picking off scabs of rubbery paint. "Maybe that's a good thing, it might confuse the scanners."

"Risky." Grunt hefts his gun up and walks along the narrow balcony. Jinaya follows him, holding onto his hand. The balcony wraps around the whole building and when they come to the opposite side, it opens up to a parking lot.

"We need a car to get out of Nos Astra." Jinaya lets go of Grunt's hand and peers into the first car. "These are all biometrically locked." She looks around. "We need an old model or a rental."

"What if I shoot the control VI?" Grunt offers, grinning helpfully.

"We need a car to drive and fly, not a dead boat to carry over our heads," Jinaya says. She peers into the darkened windows of sleek and fancy cars and her mood drops. "None of these work without an omni-tool."

"What about that one?" Grunt asks, pointing to an automatic maintenance car.

"Does it even have a cabin? Can we steer it in any way?"

Grunt takes hold of the doorframe and pulls once. With a small sound of something breaking, the door opens. Inside is a machine that powers the cleaning appliances. There is no chair and hardly any room but once Grunt has squatted down on the ground, Jinaya can drape herself over the housing of the machine.

Grunt looks closer at the machine. "There's a thing here." He pulls out a dusty box that easily fits into the palm of his hand.

"Is that a remote control?" Jinaya grabs the device and wipes the dust off the buttons. "I thought these things are all controlled via omni-tool, it must be ancient."

"Can you drive it?"

"I don't know, I can try." She has to search a bit but then she finds the start button and the motor starts to hum. At the same time, a whiff of cool air blows into the cabin. "Oh, it's climate controlled, probably to protect the machine here." She slaps the casing, she's lying on. "This could work, we can leave the city perimeter with it."

"We need climate control for that?" Grunt tries to find a comfortable position that enables him to look out to the front but it's impossible. He resigns to leaning his back toward the front of the cabin and looks out to the back.

"Maybe krogan don't but asari definitely need climate control. Illium is too hot to live outside of the towers. When we're out of the city perimeter, we'll have to find a settlement, an underground dome or a tower." Jinaya finds the steering controls and smiles happily at Grunt. She hopes he doesn't see how worried she truly is. Illium outside of the cities is deadly, there is no life on the ground and if this not-really-a-car breaks down in the middle of the desert — they will be dead.

The maintenance vehicle is slower than a regular skycar but still faster than Jinaya had expected. And it's totally inconspicuous. Nobody notices the car driving along on the bottom level, even though Jinaya didn't lower the brushes to the ground to even pretend at cleaning the road.

This low level of Illium has almost no life anyway. It houses the climate control machines and air cleaners and a few apartments for temporary workers. Down here, the temperature is cold but the air isn't filtered. The ancient climate control of the vehicle manages to clean the air enough to make it non toxic but the smell is still almost painful.

"Where do we go next?" Grunt asks, straining his thick neck to catch a glimpse through the window.

"We leave the city perimeter and head for one of the towers that hold up the environmental shield. I saw a map yesterday, there should be a tower outside of the city limits if we just keep going straight out."

"Hm." Grunt is somehow able to put a lot of doubt and concern into that little sound.

Outside the buildings thin out and the maintenance road abruptly stops. Jinaya stops the car and Grunt pulls himself up to look out ahead. A few meters of sand lead to the flickering mass effect field that encapsulates Nos Astra.

"Can we get through there?" Grunt asks.

"Let's find out." Jinaya shifts the vehicle back into gear and they rumble over the sand towards the blue wall of the mass effect field.


End file.
